MOLE: digging deeper and deeper until you lose foot

MOLE doesn't just ask you to move on in dark corridors.

The heart of the game rests on the manipulation of the machine itself.

We need to monitor our systems, understand how it works, repair certain failures and interpret information directly present in the environment.

The game voluntarily makes few concessions.

He does not spend his time explaining each mechanism and prefers to let the player observe, test and sometimes make mistakes. This approach greatly enhances immersion.

Physical interactions with levers, switches and different systems give a real feeling of driving an old and dangerous machine.

Not everything is perfectly fluid, and some sequences may seem a little repetitive once the mechanics are understood.

But the whole works mainly because every common task becomes gradually worrying.

MOLE has a superb visual identity.

Inside the drill mix industrial technology, retro aesthetics and alternative Soviet atmosphere.

Screens, dials, pipes, red lights and metal structures immediately create a credible and oppressive environment.

The game also knows how to use the darkness perfectly.

It rarely shows too many things at a time and often lets the imagination do the rest.

This approach works particularly well with more psychological sequences, where the environment is gradually becoming less reliable.

Technically, this is obviously not a big production, but the artistic direction largely compensates.

This is probably one of the best aspects of the game.

MOLE relies heavily on the sounds of his machine.

Vibration, motors, alarms, metal gnashing, distant communications and noises difficult to identify constantly create a feeling of discomfort.

You end up listening to every noise, wondering if it just announces a breakdown... or something.

The music generally remains discreet and leaves much room for silence and mechanical sounds.

This restraint works perfectly.

In such a closed environment, any unusual sound becomes immediately disturbing.

MOLE talks as much about what is under the earth as about what is in the head of its protagonist.

Religion, guilt, madness and memories gradually mix together on the journey.

The disappearance of the crew and the mysterious Signal serve as a starting point for a deliberately fragmented story.

The player has to rebuild a part of what happened himself.

This narrative will not necessarily appeal to everyone.

Some answers remain deliberately ambiguous and the game often prefers to suggest rather than explain.

But this approach perfectly corresponds to the general atmosphere.

The result is intriguing enough to maintain interest until the end.

MOLE is a relatively short experience.

Count about three to four hours to complete the main story.

For this type of game, this format works very well. Thus, the adventure avoids artificially extending its concept.

Since 26 October, the free Endless Salvation update also adds an Endless Descent mode.

This new variant further transforms machine management into a real survival challenge and brings a bit of replayability to an initially very narrative experience.

However, the game remains quite limited once its history is over, especially for those who are not interested in infinite mode.

Some sequences also rely more on jumpscares than necessary, while the atmosphere is already sufficiently successful to create tension without them.